Houses of Parliament
Houses of Parliament
#UKPW16
QUIZ
Six rounds of UK Parliamentthemed questions with answer
sheets to test your knowledge.
www.ukparliamentweek.org
Parliament Quiz
Section 1
Fights and Rights – the history of Parliament
Question
Answers
1. What are the three parts that make up the UK
Parliament?
The Lords, the Commons and the Monarch.
2. The first English parliament was instigated by the
Earl of Leicester in 1256. What was his name?
Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort’s first parliament lasted about
three months. A small start but a start nonetheless.
3. In 1430 what value of land entitled the owner to
vote in county elections to send a representative to
parliament.
c) 40 shillings or more.
a) 1 shilling or more?
b) 10 shillings or more?
c) 40 shillings or more?
4. In which century were the National Regions first
represented in Parliament?
Wales?
Scotland?
Ireland?
This figure was not adjusted for inflation so that
over time more and more land owners were enfranchised.
16th - 1542
18th - 1707
19th - 1800
The Republic of Ireland was established in the 1920s with
Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom.
5. In what year was Sir Thomas More tried and
sentenced in Westminster Hall?
1535
Bonus: In which month?
July (1st)
6. Where, in 1606, were the gunpowder plotters
tried and condemned to death?
Westminster Hall.
Francis Tresham died of natural causes in the Tower
of London on 23 December 1605. The eight surviving
conspirators were tried in Westminster Hall on 27 January.
Westminster Hall is the main surviving part of the medieval
Palace of Westminster and is now a popular historic site
open to the public.
7. In what year was Oliver Cromwell installed as Lord
Protector of the Realm.
1653
8. Who was the first woman elected to Parliament?
The Countess de Markievicz
A member of Sinn Fein, she stood for election whilst in
Holloway prison in London in December 1918. She did
not take her seat.
Bonus: Which party did she represent?
Do not mention Nancy Astor at this point as she pops up
in a later question.
9. In what year were women first given the vote in
parliamentary elections?
1918
Bonus: At what age were they allowed to vote?
30
10. In 2015 why was the Royal Mint criticised for its £2
coin celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta?
c) The king flourished a quill.
Was it:
a) The King’s crown was inaccurate?
b) The shield was the wrong shape?
c) The king flourished a quill?
Magna Carta was sealed not signed. The Royal Mint
responded to the criticism saying that the coin was
not meant to give a “literal account of what actually
occurred”.
Parliament Quiz
Section 2
At the Big Ben end – The House of Commons
Question
Answers
1. Who was the first female speaker of the House of
Commons?
Betty Boothroyd
Bonus: In what year was she elected to this office?
1992
2. The first Clerk of the House of Commons was
Robert de Melton, appointed in 1363. What was his
annual salary to the nearest pound?
£5
Bonus: can you give the exact figure?
3. In 1463, the Borough of Weymouth paid its
burgesses 500 what to attend the House of
Commons?
Mackerel (you may choose to accept fish if
you’re feeling generous).
4. What happened to the Commons Chamber on
May 10th 1941?
It was completely destroyed by a bombing raid.
5. What makes William Tresham, who was Speaker
of the House of Commons in the 1440s, unique
amongst holders of that office?
He was murdered (in 1450).
6. How many former Speakers of the House of
Commons have been executed?
c) 7 (between 1393 and 1535)
The most notable is Sir Thomas More. The others are:
Sir John Bussy
Thomas Thorpe
Sir Thomas Tresham
William Catesby
Sir Richard Empson
Edmond Dudley
Was it,
a) 2
b) 4
c) 7
7. Who was the youngest Prime Minister?
Pitt the Younger
Bonus: How old was he when he took office in 1783?
24
8. Why is Spencer Perceval who was Prime Minister
from 1809 to 1812, unique amongst holders of the
office?
He was assassinated - shot by John Bellingham in
the Lobby of the House of Commons.
If he were not famous for his dramatic end he might
be remembered for this pithy comment in a debate on
corrupt electoral practices: “I have nothing to say to
the nothing that has been said”.
9. Who was the first female MP to take her seat?
Nancy Astor (Viscountess Astor), MP for Plymouth
Sutton from 1919 to 1945.
Bonus: What religious faith did she adopt?
Christian Science
10. What common phrase comes from the place where
Members of the House of Commons leave a petition
they do not want to publicly announce?
c) In the bag
Is it,
a) Drop a bombshell?
b) Deliver an aside?
c) In the bag?
Parliament Quiz
Section 3
In the shadow of Victoria – The House of Lords
Question
Answers
1. These questions are about the House of Lords.
Why is it called ‘In the shadow of Victoria’?
Because the House of Lords is at the Victoria
Tower end of the Palace of Westminster.
2.The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the right
of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of
Lords. How many hereditary seats were spared?
92 spaces for hereditaries remain in the Lords.
The exact figure varies when spaces are waiting
to be filled.
3. In what year were proceedings of the House of
Lords first televised?
1985. Regular TV coverage of the House of
Commons did not begin until 1990.
4. In what year did the House of Lords reject the
government’s budget, triggering the passing of the
Parliament Act which limited their powers?
a) 1909
Was it,
a) 1909
b) 1963
c) 1996
5. What significant event greatly affected the House
of Lords on March 19th 1649?
The Lords rejected the Liberal government’s budget.
The Parliament Act became law in 1911.
The House of Lords was abolished. Cromwell and his
supporters in the Commons passed a bill declaring
that, “The Commons of England [find] by too long
experience that the House of Lords is useless and
dangerous to the people of England.”
The Lords did not meet again until the monarchy
was restored in 1660.
6. A tally stick was an old method of accounting
using notches on a wooden stick. Why did these
have a significant effect on the House of Lords and,
soon after, the House of Commons in 1834?
They caused a fire that destroyed most of the old
Palace of Westminster.
The fire started when a pile of old tally sticks was
burned in a furnace below the House of Lords on
16 October.
7. Who was ‘John Johnson’ and why is he so
significant in the history of Parliament and the Lords
in particular?
This was the pseudonym of Guy Fawkes infamous for
attempting to blow up the King and the House of
Lords in 1605.
8. A key role of the House of Lords is to hold the
government to account. In the 2014-15 session how
many oral and written questions did they ask of
government.
c) 6,394
Was it,
a) 2,394
b) 4,394
c) 6,394
9. Many Lords are appointed because of their
experience in a particular field.
Who am I?
I became a lord in 1995. A prime minister’s first
name is my surname. I presented a BAFTA winning
TV series. I am a doctor in a specialised field of
medicine.
10. What is the name of the seat on which the Lord
Speaker sits?
Lord Robert Winston
Lord Winston pioneered research and practice in human
fertilisation. He presented many TV series including the
BAFTA winning The Human Body, (BBC1998) and The
Story of God, (BBC 2005).
The Woolsack.
It is thought to have been introduced in the 14th century
to reflect the importance of the wool trade. Over the
years, its stuffing changed to hair, but in 1938 it was
re-stuffed with wool from England, Wales, Scotland,
Northern Ireland and countries of the Commonwealth.
Parliament Quiz
Section 4
The oratory laboratory – parliamentarians and their speeches
Question
Answers
1. Referring to the mace, the symbol of
parliamentary authority, who said this in the House
of Commons in 1653: “What shall we do with this
bauble?”
Oliver Cromwell.
On April 20th Musketeers from Cromwell’s own regiment entered the chamber and cleared it of members
saying: “You are no Parliament. I will put an end to
your sitting.
2.At the conclusion of a three-hour speech in 1789
calling for the abolition of slavery, who said: “Having
heard all of this you may choose to look the other
way but you can never again say that you did not
know.”
William Wilberforce
3. Which Member of the Lords, better known as a
poet, wrote this after speaking on the 1812 Frame
Breaking Act: “I …abused everything and everybody,
put the Lord Chancellor very much out of humour,
and if I may believe what I hear, have not lost any
character in the experiment”.
Lord Byron
4. Which famous parliamentarian said in 1980,
“Nobody would remember the Good Samaritan if he
had only good intentions. He had money as well.”
Margaret Thatcher in a TV Interview for Weekend
World on ITV (6 January, 1980), during her first term
as Prime Minister.
5. Who said this in May 2010 and to which party
was she referring: “You have to go back several
decades… to find the last maiden speech from a
new national political party.”
Caroline Lucas MP making her maiden speech as the
first Green Party MP.
6. Can you complete this quote from a speech
delivered by Winston Churchill in the House of
Commons in 1940: “Let us therefore brace ourselves
to our duty and so bear ourselves that, if the British
Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand
years, men will still say: This was …”
their finest hour.
7. Which former cricketer, later Trinidad’s High
Commissioner to the UK became the first black
Member of the House of Lords in 1969?
Learie Constantine, Baron Constantine.
8. Who, in 1987, became the first black woman
elected to the UK Parliament?
Diane Abbott
9. Of whom was Chancellor of the Exchequer Dennis
Healey speaking when he said: “I must say that part
of his speech was rather like being savaged by a
dead sheep.”
He was talking of Sir Geoffrey Howe in the House of
Commons in June, 1978. (Lord Howe of Aberavon)
10. Widely praised for her passionate maiden speech,
who in 2015 became the youngest MP to sit in the
Commons since 1667?
Mhairi Black, SNP member for Paisley and
Renfrewshire. She was 20 when she took her seat.
Parliament Quiz
Section 5
The People’s Parliament
Question
Answers
1. Who may submit evidence and opinions to a
Select Committee in the UK Parliament?
Any ‘interested party’ in effect, anyone! There
are simple instructions for doing so on
Parliament’s website or your MP can advise.
2. Select Committees in the House of Lords
concentrate on five main areas: Europe, science,
economics, communications and… what?
The constitution.
3. How many constituencies are there in the UK?
650 at the time of publishing in 2016 though
there are plans to reduce the number.
Check Parliament’s website for the latest figure.
4. What do the letters PMQ stand for?
Prime Minister’s Questions. Because this is a
popular weekly event when MPs are sitting, a free
ticket is required. Contact your MP or a Member of
the House of Lords.
5. Who may visit Parliament to watch a debate or PMQs?
c) UK residents and overseas visitors.
Is it:
a) UK electors
b) UK residents
c) UK residents and overseas visitors
6. By what name is the Visitors’ Gallery in the House
of Commons colloquially known?
The Strangers’ Gallery.
7. How many signatures are needed before the government
responds to an e-petition on the gov.uk website?
c) 10,000
After 10,000 signatures, petitions get a response
from the government.
Is it,
a) 10,000
b) 50,000
c) 100,000
After 100,000 signatures, petitions are considered
for debate in Parliament.
8. What deposit is required if you wish to stand as
an MP?
£500
Is it,
a) £500
b) 1,000
c) 5,000
9. Can you stand for Parliament if you have
committed a criminal offence?
Yes, providing you have spent less than a year in
prison. People wishing to stand as an MP must be
over 18 years of age, be a British citizen or citizen
of a Commonwealth country or the Republic of
Ireland. Members of certain professions are barred
from standing; these include serving civil servants,
members of the armed forces, and the police.
So some criminals can be MPs but not Police
Officers!
10. Can you apply to become a Lord and sit in the
House of Lords?
Yes you can! You should apply to the House of
Lords Appointments Commission whose Chairman
writes, “The Commission wishes to make further
appointments to the independent cross benches that
will add to the breadth of experience and expertise
that already exists within the House of Lords, and
also help ensure the House fully represents diversity
within our country.”
Parliament Quiz
Section 6
Potpourri – beieve it or not!
Question
Answers
1. The youngest MP ever was Christopher Monck,
later 2nd Duke of Albemarle, elected as an MP in
Devon in 1667. How old was he at the time?
a) He was 13 years old.
Three years later he was elevated to the
peerage upon the death of his father so left
the Commons for the House of Lords.
a) 13
b) 14
c) 15
2. What is the purpose of the purple ribbons in the
Members’ cloakroom?
They are for Members to hang their swords on.
3. What fits into the small brass frame behind each
seat on the commons benches?
For an extra point explain why this is of value to
MPs.
Prayer cards.
The placing of a card before prayers at the start
of the parliamentary day reserves that seat for the
whole day.
4. What is the ‘Plastic fantastic’?
The term refers to the thick file of carefully labelled
and tabbed information used by the Prime Minister
at PMQs.
5. Which feature film was the first to be granted
permission to shoot in the Houses of Parliament?
Suffragette, released in 2015. Carey Mulligan and
Helena Bonham Carter were joined outside the
building by hundreds of extras playing protesters.
Scenes were also shot in the central lobby and a
committee room.
6.”Let it be sent to the House of Lords” is
inscribed on a new bill sent from the commons
to the Lords. In which old language is it written?
a) Ancient Greek
b) Latin
c) Norman French
C) It is written in Norman French: “Soit bail as
Seigneurs”
7. What is the diameter of the clock faces on the
Elizabeth Tower? Is it,
7 metres
a) 5 metres
b) 7 metres
c) 12 metres
8. What is the significance of the two red lines
running lengthways is the Common’s chamber?
Members may not speak from the floor of the
House between these lines. They are traditionally
supposed to be two sword-lengths apart to prevent
MPs duelling although there is no evidence to
support this.
9. To the nearest 10, how many staircases are there
in the Palace of Westminster?
100.
There are 1,000 rooms covering eight acres.
Is it,
a) 100
b) 150
c) 200
10. How is the Palace of Westminster used to send a
signal to the evil organisation SPECTRE in the James
Bond film Thunderball?
‘Big Ben’ strikes seven times at six o’clock.